Playwright Judith Offer says No to Measure N because most of the money would go not to the branches but to the conversion of the Kaiser Auditorium.

— · — · —

I am an avid user of the Oakland Public Library. As a playwright, I have found that the collection provides me with a good research foundation for almost anything. The OPL librarians are the best; they are consistently friendly, informed, interested, even eager to help. (I am in and out of 6–7 branches and have had occasion to use every one, over a period of 26 years, so my comments are not limited to one branch or group of librarians.)

Measure N asks the public to approve a bond that will upgrade or expand all the branches, and to build two new ones. I would stretch my household budget for that, happily. But actually, in spite of the way it is being marketed, Measure N accords about 2/3rds of its funds for the conversion of the Kaiser Auditorium to a new Main Library. This conversion is budgeted at $100 million—twice as much as the work on the 18 branches combined. (Assuming it never goes over budget.)

In spite of the fairly hard sell for N coming at us, and the local personages that have hopped on the bandwagon, my misgivings about this project are far from allayed.

Why are we dumping a sturdy structure, built to accomodate two more floors, for a much more expensive rebuild? The old library is well-located and constructed on more-solid ground—important for books, which are extremely heavy. A new structural steel support will not be needed. It was built with addition in mind.

The Kaiser Auditorium is a performance space that should be the envy of the country. We could have mariachi fesivals, taiko drum festivals, children’s choir festivals. We could have an official city theatre company, space to develop new plays, circus displays. We could have dog shows, horse shows, antique car shows. The Kaiser Auditorium has a rich history of dances, city festivals, and might I point out, positive press. Instead of a reputation solely for murders, scandals, and angry public meetings, our city could be developing a reputation as a center of amazingly varied performance arts. We already have the exquisitely diverse population, the trained professionals (currently working in other Bay Area cities), the middle-class audiences, and even the gorgeous and fabulously located building (in good repair) that other cities work decades to create. Yet instead of looking for a good marketer and making an effort to use it well, we are asking our public for $100 million to destroy it!

Speaking of money, another issue of concern to me is the creeping addition of city expenses on the backs of the ordinary Oakland householder. On top of housing and other rising living expenses, the city has piled higher fees for parking, permits, and nearly everything. They have jockeyed the budget and the “urban renewal” boundaries to give big bonuses to developers, while police and firefighter budgets are cut. People in the neighborhoods are told to stay home and keep their windows closed, while our Mayor courts developers with our historic buildings and park spaces. Now, in order to improve our libraries, we have to shell out more hundreds of dollars per year for an indefinite amount of years, for an unnecessary, and even destructive, pet project.

Why isn’t our city government putting services to the hard-working homeowners as a priority? We seem to be in the Bush League: rich people and developers first; everybody else check their spare change for the beggers.

As a poet and playwright, I would like to be jumping on the bandwagon for the OPL, which I really love. But the way that Measure N is constructed, I am forced to vote no.

— Judith Offer

[Editor’s note: This letter is one in a series of three related letters:

]